..-«>-*.    ■         ^- 


1  -^.  ^/A~--^. 


% 


PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


^ 


Shflf.. 


I 

X II  III, 


li. 


0^ 


mm^n 


ON  THE 


LIFE  AND  CHARACTER 


OF  THE 


REV.  HENR7  HOLCOMBE,  -D.J}. 


PASTOR  OF  THE  FIRST  BAPTIST  CHDRCU  OF  FBII.ADELPHI1. 


Delivered  at  the  request  of  the  congregation  on  the  20th  June,  1 824. 


■^iZi      — 


BY  B.  RUSH  RHEES,  M.  D. 


"  Shall  blood  stained  heroes,  when  they  yield  their  breath, 
To  him  whose  cause  they  servM, — their  sovereign  death  ; 
Shall  these  awake  the  boasted  powers  of  verse, 
To  blazon  deeds  we  deem  our  greatest  curse  ? — 
And  shall  a  Champion  on  the  Christian  plain 
Fall  undistinguished,  'mid  the  vulgar  slain  ?" 


PUBLISHED  AT  THE  REQUEST  OP  THE  CONGREGATION. 

Stavely  &  Bringhurst,  Printers. 
1824. 


%k.*- 


■r*£M 


Extract  from  the  minutes  of  the  meetings  held  by  the 
members  of  the  congregation. 


THE  death  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Holcombe  hav- 
ing been  announced  to  the  First  Baptist  Church  and 
congregation,  a  meeting  of  the  latter  was  held,  on 
Sunday  morning,  May  23d,  for  the  purpose  of  express- 
ing the  sorrow  of  its  members,  at  the  melancholy  event 
of  his  dissolution,  and  their  high  sense  of  his  pre-emi- 
nent excellence. 

Mr.  Charles  Keen  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Mr. 
William  Harper  appointed  secretary,  whereupon  a 
committee,  composed  of  the  following  gentlemen,  viz: 
Messrs.  Thomas  Shewell,  Aaron  Kille,  William  E. 
Garrett,  William  W.  Keen,  and  B.  R.  Rhees,  was  in- 
structed to  prepare  resolutions,  expressive  of  the  sen- 
timents of  the  congregation,  on  the  mournful  occasion 
which  had  led  to  its  meeting.  The  committee  accor- 
dingly reported  at  a  subsequent  meeting,  held  on  the 
25th  instant,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions, 
and  they  were  unanimously  adopted,  viz  : 

The  members  of  this  congregation,  sympathising 
with  the  First  Baptist  Church,  under  the  afflicting  dis- 
pensation of  heaven,  which  has  deprived  her  of  her 
venerable  and  invaluable  Pastor;  and  feeling  deeply 
sensible,  that  they  have  themselves  sustained  a  very 
serious  loss,  in  his  sudden  and  unexpected  dissolution, 


Resolve^  I.  That  the  moral  rectitude,  and  inflexible 
integrity  of  the  late  Dr.  Henry  Holcombe  as  a  man. 
the  sincerity  and  unblemished  purity  of  his  character  as 
a  Christian,  and  the  uniform  zeal  and  ability  with 
which  he  performed  his  arduous  duties  as  a  public 
Preacher,  entitled  him  to  the  highest  respect,  and  the 
warmest  affection,  and  rendered  him  worthy  of  being 
ever  held  in  grateful  and  lively  remembrance. 

II.  That,  as  his  services,  and  virtues,  are  deserving 
of  universal  commemoration,  it  is  due  to  the  deep  and 
unfeigned  sorrow,  of  his  former  auditors,  and  friends, 
on  the  melancholy  termination  of  his  career,  that  a 
public  tribute  be  paid  to  his  memory  ;  therefore 

Resolved,  III.  That  a  member  of  this  congregation 
be  appointed  to  deliver  an  Eulogium  on  his  life  and 
character.  Dr.  B.  Rush  Rhees  was  appointed  to  per- 
form this  duty,  when,  on  motion,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  present 
a  letter  of  condolence,  accompanied  with  the  foregoing 
resolutions,  to  the  widow  of  the  late  Dr.  Holcombe. 
The  following  letter  was  accordingly  submitted  by  the 
committee  and  adopted  : — 

To  Mrs.  Frances  Holcombe. 

Highly  Esteemed  Madam, 

In  adopting  and  presenting  to  you  the  enclosed  reso- 
lutions, the  members  of  the  congregation  assembling 
in  the  meeting  house  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  have 
done  no  more,  than  pay  a  feeble  and  imperfect  tribute 
to  justice.     Permit  them,  therefore,  to  add  the  expres- 


sion  of  their  sincere  condolence  with  you,  on  a  loss, 
calculated  to  overwhelm  you  with  grief,  and  to  call 
forth  the  tenderest  sympathies  of  all  who  are  able  to 
appreciate  the  value  of  the  highest  order  of  moral  ex- 
cellence. 

The  loss  of  a  beloved  and  respected  Pastor  ;  of  one 
whose  counsel  has  guided  us,  and  whose  pathetic  and 
tender  exhortations,  have  so  often  affected  our  hearts, 
is  to  us  a  severe  affliction.  On  you  the  stroke  has  fal- 
len far  heavier ;  for  you  have  been  deprived  of  the  sup- 
port and  comfort  of  your  declining  years,  the  affec- 
tionate partner  of  your  solicitudes  and  pleasures,  the 
dear  and  devoted  friend,  who  was  appointed  by  heaven 
to  cheer  and  console  you  amid  the  cares  and  calami- 
ties of  life.  A  privation  such  as  this,  awakens  a  sorrow 
in  your  bosom,  which  can  be  divested  of  its  poignancy, 
only  by  the  influence  of  that  religion,  which  robs  death 
of  his  terrors ;  and  this  we  are  assured  has  been  to 
yoUf  a  source  of  the  richest  consolation. 

We  will  not,  therefore,  intrude  further  on  the  mo- 
ments you  would  devote  to  the  tranquillizing  exercise 
of  religious  contemplation  ;  but  beg  you  to  accept  the 
offering,  of  our  sincere  sympathy  with  you,  in  your  pre- 
sent distress  ;  and  the  individual  regard  we  shall  ever 
entertain  for  you,  under  every  circumstance  of  your  fu- 
ture life. 

In  behalf  of  the  congregation. 

(Signed,)         ROBT.  MAUL,        ) 

JAMES  MANN,      V  Committee. 
B.  RUSH  RHEES,  S 


6 

The  Eulogium  having  been  delivered  on  the  29th  of 
June,  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  was  held  on  the 
6th  of  Julj,  when  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  congregation  be 
presented  to  Dr.  B.  Rush  Rhees,  for  the  appropriate 
manner  in  which  he  performed  the  arduous  duty  im- 
posed on  him,  in  pronouncing  the  Eulogium  on  our 
late  venerable  and  lamented  Pastor,  on  Tuesday  last, 
and  that  he  be  requested  to  furnish  a  copy  of  the  Eulo- 
gium, prepared  for  publication. 

(Signed,)  CHARLES  KEEN, 

Chairman. 

PARDON  DAVIS, 

Secretary. 


iiia^B'"' 

Friends  and  Fellow  Citizens, 

IF  it  be  useful  to  cherish  the  recollection  of  distin- 
guished worth,  if  honour  be  due  to  those  who  have 
given  to  the  world  examples  of  the  beauty  and  dignity 
of  virtue  ;  the  purpose  for  which  you  are  now  assem- 
bled, is  neither  trifling,  nor  unimportant.  It  is,  on  the 
contrary,  calculated  to  elevate  your  feelings,  and  lead 
to  reflections  as  salutary,  as  they  must  be  serious.  Sin- 
cerely do  I  regret,  that  the  task  of  awakening  these  re- 
flections in  your  minds,  had  not  devolved  on  some  one 
more  competent  to  do  justice  to  the  solemn  and  impres- 
sive subject  from  which  they  spring.  With  powers  ade- 
quate to  its  performance,  it  would  be  a  grateful  duty, 
to  trace  the  noble  features  of  that  exalted  character, 
which  I  have  been  called  to  eulogize.  I  do  not,  how- 
ever, appear  in  this  place  as  one,  daring  to  expect  that 
these  features  can  be  portrayed  in  their  proper  colours. 
It  is,  as  one,  uniting  with  you  in  your  veneration  of 
moral  excellence,  and  holding  communion  with  you,  in 
your  sorrow,  on  the  removal  of  any  of  its  possessors 
from  the  earth — as  one  who  saw  it  shining  with  tran- 
scendent lustre  in  the  life  of  hinij  who  but  lately,  occu- 
pied this  place,  and  as  one,  who  mingled  his  grief  with 
yours,  when  the  melancholy  tale  of  his  dissolution  was 
told. 


8 

Days  and  weeks  have  passed  away  since  you  follow- 
ed his  lifeless  body  to  the  silent  tomb  ;  yet  this  grief  re- 
mains undiminished.  It  must  indeed  be  lasting  as  it 
was  poignant,  for  it  was  excited  by  no  ordinary  cause. 
Wherever  the  shaft  of  death  may  strike,  on  whomsoever 
his  heavy  and  icy  hand  may  be  laid,  sorrow  must  be 
the  consequence — the  peace  of  some  living  being,  must 
be  slain.  Though  the  grave  be  opened  to  receive  the 
humblest  of  God's  responsible  creatures,  there  will  be 
some  one  to  shed  tears  upon  it.  A  wife  is  bereft  of  a 
beloved  husband,  a  mother  of  her  darling  babe,  or  a 
sister  of  a  tender  and  devoted  brother.  A  child  is  left 
fatherless,  or  a  friend,  friendless — some  small  circle 
has  had  its  gaiety  repressed — some  house  of  joy  has 
been  converted  into  a  house  of  mourning.  These  are 
the  common,  and  necessary  consequences  of  death's  in- 
trusion, even  into  the  habitations  of  the  obscure  and  the 
ignoble.  How  much  more  deeply  and  widely  are  they 
felt,  when  he  who  sinks  beneath  the  relentless  blow  of 
the  destroyer,  is  not  only  a  father,  and  a  husband ;  but 
the  counsellor  and  friend  of  thousands — an  advocate  of 
the  poor  and  the  oppressed — a  bold  defender  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty — a  zealous  promoter  of  knowledge — 
a  firm  and  fearless  foe  to  vice,  and  a  faithful  guar- 
dian, not  only  of  the  temporal,  but  of  the  immortal  in- 
terests of  his  fellow  men  !  Such  was  he,  whose  virtues 
you  have  thronged  hither  to  commemorate,  and  whose 
death  has  been  felt,  as  a  sad  and  serious  calamity,  far 
beyond  the  bosom  of  his  mourning  family.  You,  who 
were  united  to  him  by  the  bonds  of  Christian  fellow- 
ship, who  have  bowed  down  with  him  before  the  altar 
of  the  mighty  God,  and  who  have  been  partakers  with 


him,  of  that  holy  sacrament,  which  forms  the  pledge 
of  your  devotion  to  the  Christian  faith,  and  the  memen- 
to of  your  fraternal  union  here,  and  your  common  des- 
tinies hereafter ; — you  have  felt  his  loss,  for  you  have 
been  deprived  of  a  friend  and  brother,  whose  "  like 
you  may  not  look  upon  again." 

You,  who  have  witnessed  his  unwearied  labours  in 
the  cause  of  truth,  who  have  heard  his  voice  filling 
this  place  with  its  impressive  tones,  and  who  can  wit- 
ness with  what  resistless  energy  it  fell  upon  your  senses 
and  your  souls ; — you  have  felt  it,  for  he  loved  you  also, 
and  laboured  to  advance  your  highest  interests.  You, 
who  are  engaged  in  the  same  sacred  cause,  to  which 
his  life  was  devoted — whose  hearts  are  consecrated  to 
the  same  holy  service,  and  whose  hopes  are  directed 
to  the  same  celestial  honours  ; — you  too  have  felt  it, 
for  the  cause  of  Christianty  has  lost  an  able  advocate, 
and  the  interests  of  virtue,  a  bold  and  intrepid  cham- 
pion. All  who  knew  him,  and  who  know  the  value  of 
moral  excellence ;  all  who  have  hearts  capable  of  feel- 
ing and  minds  capable  of  comprehending  the  beauty  of 
a  life  spent  in  doing  good,  have  felt  it,  for  such  a  life  was 
closed,  when  the  venerable  apostle,  who  has  just  been 
taken  from  us,  terminated  his  career.  But  we  have 
not  met  together  for  the  single  purpose  of  giving  ex- 
pression to  our  grief.  We  come  to  raise  our  friend,  and 
not  to  bury  him.  He  who  was  worthy  of  such  deep 
and  general  sorrow,  must  be  worthy  also,  of  our  united 
eulogies.  The  elevated  station  he  occupied  among  us, 
entitles  him  to  this  peculiar  mark  of  our  respect  and 
veneration.  If  those  who  act  well  their  part,  even  in 
the  common  walks  of  life,  are  deserving  of  the  approv- 

B 


10 

ing  smiles  of  their  fellow  men  ;  far  more  than  ordinary 
approbation  is  due  to  those,  who  have  filled  with  faith- 
fulness and  honour,  posts  of  high  distinction  and  re- 
sponsibility. Such  is  the  general  sense  of  mankind.  The 
hero  who  has  led  the  armies  of  his  country  to  victory, 
or  who  has  caused  her  banners  to  float  in  triumph  on 
the  ocean  breeze,  has  a  thousand  tongues  to  proclaim 
his  praise.  His  achievements  become  the  theme  of 
poets  and  of  orators  ;  and  the  vault  of  heaven  is  made 
to  ring,  on  their  recital,  with  the  plaudits  of  admiring 
millions.  The  statesman,  whose  wisdom  has  framed, 
and  whose  energy  has  led  to  the  adoption  of  laws, 
tending  to  promote  the  happiness  of  the  community  in 
which  he  lived,  has  his  name  repeated  with  applause, 
long  after  the  tones  of  his  eloquence  have  ceased  to 
charm  the  ear,  and  the  fire  of  patriotism  to  burn  in  his 
bosom.  He  who  has  devoted  his  life  to  the  develop- 
ment of  nature's  mysteries,  and  the  discovery  of  the 
causes,  by  which  worlds  are  kept  in  harmonious  mo- 
tion :  he  who  has  watched  over  you  in  the  hour  of  sick- 
ness, and  brought  back  the  blush  of  health  to  your 
cheek,  when  you  had  surrendered  every  hope  of  a  re- 
newal of  your  earthly  pleasures  ;  who  has  guarded  your 
streets  against  pestilence,  and  who  has  carried  the  be- 
nign influence  of  his  art  into  the  hovels  of  misery  and 
want:  he  who  has  administered  justice  with  impartia- 
lity, and  suffered  not  the  widow  nor  the  orphan  to  sink 
beneath  the  cruelty  of  rapacious  and  unfeeling  adver- 
saries ;  these  are  deemed  worthy  of  your  praises,  and 
they  have  been  bestowed  upon  them.  And  shall  those 
remain  unhonoured,  who  have  been  the  ministers  of 
health  to  your  diseased  minds ;— who  have  been  the  ex- 


11 

positors  of  divine  (not  merely  natural)  truth  ;  who  have 
advanced  the  interests  and  happiness  of  mankind,  by 
bringing  the  reckless  and  the  profligate  into  subjection 
to  the  laws  of  God  ;  who  have  grappled  with  foes  more 
mighty  than  men,  and  triumphed  in  the  contest ;  who 
have  driven  the  enemies  of  your  religion,  from  post  to 
post,  and  from  field  to  field  ;  stormed  the  citadels  of  im- 
morality, and  caused  the  proudest  banners,  under  which 
man  can  fight,  the  banners  oi' virtue,  to  wave  in  triumph 
over  the  prostrate  forces  of  the  prince  of  evil ;  shall 
these  remain  unhonoured  ?  Shall  these  be  consigned  to 
the  tomb  in  silence,  and  shall  their  names  be  forgotten 
by  those  who  were  the  witnesses  of  their  worth  ?  Jus- 
tice forbids  it,  and  proclaims,  that  these,  above  all  others, 
are  deserving  of  our  eulogies.  The  station  of  a  Chris- 
iian  Preacher,  is  indeed,  higher  than  any  other  occupied 
by  man.  The  purity  of  principle,  and  integrity  of  life 
required  to  fill  it,  as  it  should  be  filled  ;  the  weighty  and 
important  {Imies  it  imposes,  and  the  magnitude  of  the 
objects  which  mu3t  be  ever  in  the  view  of  those  who 
are  exalted  to  it,  entitle  it  to  this  superiority.  It  is 
their  peculiar  province,  to  comfort  the  disconsolate,  and 
awaken  hope  in  the  breasts  of  the  despondent ;  to  in- 
struct the  unenlightened,  and  convince  the  faithless  ;  to 
point  out  the  path  of  pleasantness  and  peace  to  those 
who  are  rushing  onward  to  ruin  ;  and  to  fire  with  new 
zeal,  those  who  have  buckled  on  the  armour  of  religion: 
to  suppress  the  ebullitions  of  lawless  passion,  and  to 
invigorate  the  reason,  and  the  virtuous  feelings  of  those 
who  are  committed  to  their  trust : — to  unmask  the  hy- 
pocrite ;  to  put  the  blasphemer  to  shame,  and  in  a  word, 
to  impress  anew,  upon  the  soul  of  man,  the  lost  image 


12 

of  his  God.  It  is  required  of  them,  that  their  lives 
be  pure,  and  holy,  as  the  precepts  they  inculcate ;  and 
that  humility,  self-denial,  and  every  other  virtue  which 
can  adorn  the  character  of  man,  should  shine  conspicu- 
ously in  them.  Their  situation  is  one  of  danger,  as 
well  as  of  difficulty  and  trust.  The  ignorant  and  de- 
praved, by  whom  they  are  surrounded,  and  whose  eyes 
are  intently  fixed  upon  their  steps,  are  ever  busy  with 
their  fame ;  seeking,  with  malicious  industry,  to  find 
something  in  their  lives  injurious  to  the  cause  they  ad- 
vocate— something  to  cast  reproach  on  their  religion. 
By  such,  the  smallest  error  of  their  judgments  will  be 
magnified  into  a  wilful  perversion  of  truth;  and  the 
most  trifling  deviation  from  the  path  of  moral  recti- 
tude, into  a  grossly  criminal  violation  of  virtue.  Their 
zeal  will  be  called  bigotry — their  liberality,  want  of  de- 
votion— their  firmness,  obstinacy — and  their  indepen- 
dence, ambition,  and  a  thirst  for  power. 

This  is  not  all.  It  is  not  at  the  fireside,  or  in  the  se- 
cret conclaves  of  the  dissolute  and  designing  only,  that 
judgment  will  be  passed  on  their  characters  and  con- 
duct. The  report  of  their  trifling  errors,  or,  when 
these  cannot  be  found,  the  invented  charges  of  those, 
who  are  unfriendly  to  their  cause  or  calling,  will  be 
borne  from  house  to  house,  on  the  unwearying  wing  of 
culumny,  and  blazoned  forth  as  proofs  of  their  insin- 
cerity, or,  ivorse  than  this,  of  their  apostacy. 

From  these  dangers,  they  are  never  safe ;  for  though 
to-day,  they  may  imagine  that  the  voice  of  unkind ness 
and  malignity  is  still;  to-morrow  it  may  disturb  their 
rest.  Those  who  are  about  them,  may  now  be  the 
avowed  advocates  of  the  truth  they  teach,  and  the  de- 


13 

dared  admirers  of  the  firmness  and  energy  with  which 
they  urge  it  on  the  mind ;  to-morrow  they  may  desert 
them,  and  be  arrayed  against  their  peace.  To-day 
they  may  sing  hosannas  to  their  names,  and  to-morrow 
may  be  heard  to  cry,  crucify  them,  crucify  them!  These 
are  not  fancied  dangers  we  have  thrown  round  the 
ecclesiastical  profession.  The  founder  of  the  Christian 
faith  passed  through  them,  and  there  is  not  one  of  his 
disciples,  however  pure  his  life,  that  may  not,  one  day, 
be  called  to  encounter  them. 

In  thus  noticing  the  important  requisitions,  the  noble 
objects,  and  the  peculiar  difificulties  of  the  station  of  a 
Christian  preacher,  it  has  been  my  purpose  to  lead  you 
to  the  conviction,  that  none  are  more  worthy  of  your 
eulogies,  than  those  who  have  filled  it  through  a  long 
life,  with  fidelity  and  honour;  and  who  on  quitting  it, 
for  still  higher  posts  in  heaven,  have  given  proof  of  the 
sincerity  of  their  professions,  and  of  the  celestial  origin 
of  the  religion  they  had  laboured  to  extend.  Such  was 
the  case  with  Dr.  Henry  Holcombe.  He  occupied 
this,  as  well  as  other  stations,  for  more  than  forty  years, 
"  without  having  been  subjected  during  that  period,  to 
a  single  admonition,  either  civil,  military,  or  ecclesiasti- 
cal;" and  on  leaving  it,  gave  the  strongest  proof,  that 
death  was  to  him,  promotion  to  a  nobler  rank,  among 
nobler  beings. 

On  a  survey  of  his  life,  we  shall  discover,  that  it  was 
a  series  of  efforts  to  benefit  his  fellow  men,  and  that 
the  principles  by  which  his  conduct  was  uniformly  go- 
verned, were  the  offspring  of  the  purest,  and  the  no- 
blest feelings.  To  the  biographer,  we  must,  however, 
leave  the  minute  details  of  his  life,  while  we  expatiate 


14 

on  those  prominent  features,  in  his  character  and  con' 
duct,  most  worthy  of  our  admiration.  These  are  nei- 
ther few,  nor  faintly  marked ;  yet,  to  these,  we  shall 
not  exclusively  confine  ourselves,  but  shall,  occasion- 
ally, endeavour  to  draw,  from  circumstances,  apparent- 
ly trivial,  such  general  reflections  as  may  serve  to  en- 
list our  feelings  in  the  cause  of  virtue  and  religion. 

Henry  Holcombe  was  born  in  Prince  Edward 
county,  Virginia,  on  the  22d  of  September,  1762. 
While  he  was  yet  a  child,  his  father  removed  with  his 
family  to  the  state  of  South  Carolina ; '  where,  at  eleven 
years  of  age,  he  completed,  (to  use  his  own  words,) 
"  all  the  education  he  ever  received  from  a  living  pre- 
ceptor.'^'* This  fact  is  worthy  of  particular  notice,  when 
considered  in  connection  with  his  intellectual  endow- 
ments, and  the  extent  of  his  acquisitions  in  after  life. 
Even  the  poor,  and  indifferent  means  of  instruction, 
within  his  reach,  were  taken  from  him,  at  a  period,  too 
early  to  admit  of  the  presumption,  that  he  could  have 
derived  much  profit  from  their  employment.  Nature 
must  therefore  have  endowed  him  with  a  mind,  rich  in 
its  own  resources,  and  vigorous,  even  in  its  youth,  or 
he  could  not  have  extended  his  researches,  as  success- 
fully as  he  did,  into  the  sublimest  and  deepest  myste- 
ries that  can  occupy  the  attention  of  rational  man. 
She  i(;«5thus  bountiful  to  him.  She  taught  him  to  think, 
and  led  him,  even  in  boy-hood,  to  fix  his  thoughts  on 
the  noblest  of  her  works.  At  an  age,  when  her  less  fa- 
voured children  are  amused  with  toys  and  trinkets,  he 
delighted  to  dwell  on  the  grandeur  and  magnificence 
of  those  countless  orbs,  with  which  she  has  filled  the 
immensity  of  space.  Is  it  not  pleasing,  here,  to  trace  the 


15 

correspondence  between  the  nobleness  of  the  objects 
to  which  his  early  attention  was  directed,  and  the  lofti- 
ness of  his  subsequent  pursuits  ?  His  youthful  mind  is 
found  ranging  among  the  planets,  and  gathering  from 
the  contemplation  of  their  splendour,  the  rudiments  of 
that  knowledge,  the  first  principles  of  that  ennobling 
faith,  which,  in  manhood,  bore  it  far  beyond  the  planets, 
and  fixed  its  aspirings  on  a  closer  acquaintance  with 
theGoDwho  made  them.  His  soul  seems  to  have  been 
placed,  almost  on  the  very  day  of  its  creation,  far  on- 
ivard  in  that  track  which  leads  from  truth  to  truth, 
from  wonder  to  wonder,  and  from  glory  to  glory,  up 
to  the  throne  of  the  great  Jehovah. — But  we  must  not 
anticipate  our  subject,  nor  forget  what  our  departed 
friend  once  was,  in  thinking  of  him  as  he  now  is. 

The  period  of  his  youth  was  one  of  severe  trial  to 
our  common  country.  She  was  just  then  emerging 
from  a  state  of  dependence  on  an  empire,  which  had 
lost  sight  of  her  own,  and  the  interests  of  humanity,  in 
attempting  to  fasten  chains  on  freemen,  and  in  daring 
to  require,  that  the  noble  and  the  brave  should  bow  the 
knee  at  her  behest.  It  was  a  period  in  which  the  souls 
of  your  fathers  were  sorely,  and  severely  tried.  Their 
homes  were  deserted  for  the  tented  field,  and  their 
wives  and  daughters  left  alone,  at  the  fireside,  and  at 
the  domestic  altar,  hoping  and  fearing,  praying  for 
their  triumphant  return,  yet  dreading  to  hear  the  dis- 
mal tidings  of  their  discomfiture  and  death.  Your 
cities  and  villages  were  filled  with  hireling  hordes,  and 
throughout  this  portion  of  your  beloved  country,  no- 
thing was  heard  but  the  loud  alarm  of  war. 


16 

It  was  at  this  period,  so  interesting  to  your  fathers, 
so  interesting  to  you,  and  to  all,  whose  souls  have  not 
been  debased  by  vassalage,  that  the  lofty  and  indepen- 
dent spirit  of  Henry  Holcombe  first  displayed  itself. 
He  heard  the  tale  of  those  wrongs  of  which  his  country 
was  complaining,  and  learned,  with  mingled  emotions  of 
pride  and  patriotism,  that  her  sons  had  pledged  ^^  their 
lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred  honour, ''^  t©  redress 
them.  At  once  that  fire  was  kindled  in  his  breast, 
which,  centuries  before,  had  infused  into  Grecian  and 
Roman  bosoms,  the  soul  animating  love  of  freedom.  He 
waited  not  for  the  arrival  of  manhood  before  he  drew 
his  sword,  but  entered  promptly  into  the  service  of  his 
country,  determined,  with  every  patriot  of  that  momen- 
tous period,  to  live  free,  or  die.  His  ardour  and  intre- 
pidity, tempered  as  they  were,  by  that  discretion  and 
soundness  of  judgment,  without  which  courage  is  una- 
vailing, and  boldness  becomes  impetuous  rashness,  soon 
raised  him  to  command  ;  and  here,  as  in  every  other 
station  in  which  he  was  found  in  after  life,  he  acquitted 
himself  well,  and  gave  the  fullest  proof  that  the 
trust  reposed  in  him  by  his  fellow  soldiers,  was  not 
misplaced.  More  than  once  he  led  his  troop  to  battle, 
and  as  often,  was  preserved  from  the  winged  ball,  and 
the  blow  aimed  at  his  life.  His  was  not  an  arm  that 
would  be  raised  in  vain.  It  could  force  a  passage 
through  a  host  of  foes  ;  for  heaven  was  holding  an 
aegis  before  him,  which  no  deadly  weapon  could  pene- 
trate. 

But  it  is  not  as  a  military  chief,  exclusively,  that 
we  are  to  contemplate  his  worth.  While  an  officer  in 
the  army  of  our  revolutionary  country,  he  was  led  to 


17 

those  reflections  which  eventually  inclined  him  to  re' 
nounce  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  the  world,  and  to 
seek  for  happiness  in  the  calm  contemplation  of  reli- 
gious truth. 

He  had  tasted  of  the  cup  of  earthly  pleasure,  and 
found  there  was  bitterness  in  it.  He  had  pursued  the 
track,  to  which  his  natural  propensities  and  passions 
pointed,  and  he  saw  that  it  would  finally  lead  him  to 
dishonour,  and  never  ending  misery.  He  sought  for  a 
path,  which  would  conduct  him  to  something  more 
cheering  in  its  aspect,  more  attractive  in  its  nature, 
and  he  found  that  which  leads  up  to  heaven.  He  be- 
came a  Christian.  Christian!  And  what  does  this 
term  imply  ?  Does  it  mean  a  Baptist,  or  an  Episcopa- 
lian, or  a  Presbyterian  ?  God  forbid  !  The  only  religion 
calculated  to  promote  the  universal  interests  of  man  on 
earth,  and  to  fit  him  for  fellowship  with  superior  be- 
ings in  the  world  to  come,  cannot  be  contracted  with- 
in the  narrow  limits  to  which  these  terms  of  man^s  cre- 
ation would  confine  it.  Its  scope  is  far  wider,  and 
though  there  may  exist  the  greatest  diversity  of  senti- 
ment on  points  not  essential  to  the  preservation  of  its 
purity,  or  the  attainment  of  its  grand  and  ultimate  ob- 
jects ;  among  those  who  believe  its  truths,  and  who 
obey  its  precepts,  there  will  be  something  found  in  all 
to  distinguish  them  from  the  unchristian  world,  some- 
things in  common,  to  show  that  all  are  followers  of 
Christ. 

Yes  !  by  whatever  name  you  may  be  called,  in  what- 
ever forms  you  may  be  pleased  to  worship  the  author 
of  this  holy  religion,  if  you  hwxfeel  its  ennobling  influ- 
ence, when  you  approach  his  throne,  if  you  but  present 

C 


18 

your  petitions  in  the  name  of  Am  on  whose  mediation 
you  rest  your  hopes  of  never  ending  felicity,  you  must 
forget  the  idle  titles  by  which  you  are  distinguished 
among  men,  and  banish  from  your  thoughts  the  recol- 
lection of  your  differences.  Here,  all  your  names  are 
merged  in  the  high  and  dignifying  epithet.  Christian; 
here  you  learn,  that  though  the  temple  of  your  faith 
may  have  a  thousand  spires,  all  alike  point  up  to  hea- 
ven, from  the  smallest,  and  the  plainest,  to  the  most 
gorgeous  and  highly  finished.  It  is  as  a  Christian, 
therefore,  and  not  as  a  Baptist,  we  would  contemplate 
the  subject  of  our  eulogy. 

Between  the  twenty-first  and  twenty-second  yearsof 
his  life,  he  was  united  to  the  church,  and  immediately 
received  a  license,  according  to  its  forms,  to  proclaim 
to  others  from  the  pulpit,  the  truths,  of  which  he  had 
himself  become  so  thoroughly  convinced.  As  a  Chris- 
tian preacher,  he  was  no  less  fearless  and  intrepid,  than 
he  had  been  as  a  military  chief.  At  the  head  of  his 
troop  he  boldly  declared,  that  he  had  enlisted  in  the  cause 
of  God,  and  called  on  those  who  had  shared  his  perils 
in  defence  of  the  rights  of  their  beloved  country,  to  en- 
gage with  him  in  a  service  not  opposed  to,  but  higher 
in  its  objects,  than  that,  in  which  some  of  them  had  but 
recently  shed  their  blood,  and  to  which  the  hearts  of  all 
had  been  devoted.  No  blush  of  shame  mantled  the 
cheek  of  the  youthful  warrior  when  he  made  this  de- 
claration, no  feeling  of  timidity  trembled  at  his  heart 
when  he  made  this  bold  appeal.  He  who  had  never 
blenched  from  danger  in  the  day  of  battle,  he  who  had 
never  felt  a  fear,  though  his  friends  were  falling  round 
him  in  the  deadly  conflict,  waged  between  man  and 


19 

man,  could  not  prove  a  coivard,  no  matter  what  dangers 
might  stare  him  in  the  face,  no  matter  what  shafts 
might  be  aimed  against  him.  The  impious  taunts  of  the 
unrighteous,  the  scoffs  of  infidel  blasphemers,  and  the 
sneers  of  those  who  affect  to  hold  heaven  in  contempt, 
and  mock  at  all  religion,  could  not  deter  him  from  the 
proinpt  performance  of  his  duty.  He  entered  on  it  with 
ardour,  and  pursued  it  with  an  industrious  and  perse- 
vering earnestness,  which  did  not  escape  the  notice  of 
his  Christian  brethren. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  was  deemed  fully  wor- 
thy of  being  entrusted  with  the  power  of  performing 
the  ceremonies,  and  administering  the  sacraments,  pro- 
vided for  by  the  church  ;  and  from  this  period,  to  the 
termination  of  his  long  and  useful  life,  he  continued  to 
be  a  diligent  and  faithful  servant  of  his  God. 

To  be  able  fully  to  appreciate  the  value  of  his  eccle- 
siastical services  in  the  southern  section  of  our  coun- 
try, we  must  know  something  of  the  state  of  morality 
and  religion  there,  on  the  commencement  of  his  career. 
It  will  be  found,  that  there  was  a  deplorable  destitution 
of  the  means  of  religious  instruction — that  but  few 
buildings  had  been  reared  for  the  purpose  of  public 
worship,  and  that  these  were  frequented  by  but  few, 
while  the  race  course  was  ahvays  thronged ;  that  in 
the  private  retirement  of  families,  cards  and  dice  were 
resorted  to,  while  the  volume  of  divine  inspiration  lay 
untouched  upon  their  shelves ;  and  that  blasphemy, 
duelling,  and  dissipation,  were  not  thought  unbeconwig 
accomplishments  of  gentlemen.  Such  was  the  moral 
condition  of  that  part  of  South  Carolina,  in  which 
Dr.  Holcombe  entered  on  the  performance  of  his  mi- 


20 

nisterial  functions.  He  left  it  in  a  far  different  state* 
The  ignorant  were  instructed,  the  dissolute  reclaimed, 
the  wretched  rendered  happy,  and  the  names  of  thou- 
sands enrolled  by  him  on  that  record  of  repentant  sin- 
ners, which,  we  are  assured,  is  copied  with  delight  in 
heaven.,  whether  it  he  drawn  out  on  earthy  by  Catholic, 
by  Protestant,  or  by  Dissenter. 

From  the  pulpit  and  the  press,  he  sent  forth,  with 
unremitted  diligence  and  zeal,  the  declarations  of  the 
Deity  ;  urged  upon  his  countrymen  the  precepts  of  the 
Christian  code,  and  bade  defiance  to  the  evil  spirits 
which  walk  in  darkness,  and  allure,  by  their  syren 
songs,  to  certain,  and  to  awful  death.  His  labours,  at 
this  period,  did  not  remain  unrewarded;  for  though  he 
had  hitherto  received  no  pecuniary  recompense  for  his 
clerical  services,  he  was  honoured  by  being  placed  in  a 
situation  which  the  proudest  might  be  justly  proud  to 
fill. 

His  fellow  citizens,  having  the  fullest  confidence  in 
his  unshaken  integrity,  the  soundness  of  his  judgment, 
and  the  firmness  of  his  patriotism,  selected  him,  as 
their  representative,  in  that  convention  which  express- 
ed the  sense  entertained  by  South  Carolina,  of  the  ex- 
cellence of  the  present  admirable  constitution  of  the 
United  States. 

To  all  who  had  any  agency  in  the  framing  or  eS' 
tahlishment  of  this  instrument  of  human  happiness, 
this  charter  of  American  liberty,  this  monument  of  re- 
publican wisdom  ;  honour  will  be  due  from  genera- 
tions yet  unborn.  The  names  of  those  can  never  be  for- 
gotten, who,  not  only  bared  their  breasts  to  the  dangers 
which  threatened  their  country,  and  drew  their  swords 


21 

against  the  lawless  invaders  of  her  soil,  but  who  also 
enlightened  her  councils,  and  fixed  her  freedom  on  a 
foundation,  which  cannot  be  shaken,  tliough  all  the 
red  artillery  of  despotism  be  levelled  at  it.  Among 
these^  posterity  will  find  the  name  of  He^nry  Hol- 
COMBE,  and  it  will  be  revered  long  after  the  veil  of 
oblivion  has  been  thrown  over  the  memories  of  those, 
whose  whole  souls  are  devoted  to  self  elevation,  how- 
ever loudly  the  voice  of  popular  applause  may  now 
ring  in  their  delighted  ears. 

On  the  return  of  Dr.  Holcombe  from  Charleston, 
whither  he  had  gone  to  attend  the  meetings,  and  assist 
in  the  deliberations  of  the  South  Carolina  Convention, 
he  was  invited  to  take  the  pastoral  charge  of  a  Baptist 
church  at  the  Euhavv,  whence  he  removed  in  1795,  to 
the  city  of  Beaufort.  Here  he  continued  until  1799, 
when  he  removed  to  the  city  of  Savannah. 

While  at. Beaufort,  his  pen  was  not  idle,  nor  his  voice 
silent  in  the  propagation  of  religious  truth,  and  in  the 
exposure  and  conviction  of  the  prevailing  vices  of  the 
place. 

On  the  character  of  his  early  writings^  it  would  not 
become  me  to  pass  an  opinion.  They  are  chiefly  on 
those  doctrinal  and  controversial  points,  which  it  is 
the  province  of  the  learned  and  enlightened  theologian 
to  discuss. 

It  may,  however,  be  stated,  as  an  evidence  of  their 
value,  and  the  value  of  his  pulpit  labours,  at  this 
early  period,  that  they  were  followed  by  a  very  strik- 
ing and  unequivocal  increase  of  that  interest  in  reli- 
gion, which  was  before,  scarcely  perceptible  among 
his  fellow  citizens.     Temples  which  had  been  before 


22 

erected  for  the  worship  of  Almighty  God,  were  en- 
larged, while  others  were  seen  rising,  where  the  path 
of  the  Indian,  or  the  resting  place  of  the  idolater  had 
been.  The  prajer  of  the  penitent  was  heard  where 
once  the  maledictions  of  the  impious  had  been  profane- 
ly uttered,  and  praises  ascended  to  the  name  of  him., 
who  was  the  great  first  cause  of  all  things,  where  once 
the  loud  and  boisterous  laugh  of  the  midnight  reveller 
had  rent  the  air.  These  were  changes,  for  which  all 
the  good  must  be  grateful,  no  matter  in  what  remote 
corner  of  the  world  they  may  occur.  Think  you,  it 
is  then  idle  thus  to  dwell  upon  them  ?  Go,  if  such  be 
your  opinion — go,  and  visit  the  mother,  whose  tender 
bosom  has  been  wrung  with  anguish,  by  the  profligacy 
of  a  darling  son ;  whose  pillow  has  been  wet,  night 
after  night,  with  tears  of  sorrow,  and  whose  aching 
heart  has  been  almost  broken  by  his  unkind  and  cruel 
treatment.  Ask  her.,  what  her  feelings  were,  when 
this  son  threw  himself  upon  her  bosom,  and  prayed 
forgiveness  for  his  past  unkindness ;  when  he  kneeled 
with  her,  before  the  throne  of  mercy,  and  with  devout 
and  pious  fervour,  mingled  his  petitions  to  Almighty 
God,  with  hers.  She  will  tell  you,  that  her  tears  were 
dried  away ;  that  pleasure  took  the  place  of  pain  in  her 
maternal  breast ;  that  a  ray  of  celestial  love  had  beam- 
ed upon  her  soul.  She  will  tell  you  too,  that  such 
changes  as  her  heart  had  undergone,  from  misery  and 
anguish  to  happiness  and  joy,  should  not  be  lightly 
treated,  in  speaking  the  praises  of  him,  by  whom  they 
were  effected,  as  an  instrument  of  heaven.  But  our 
time  will  not  permit  us  to  dwell  longer  on  that  part  of 
the  life  of  our  reverend  friend,  which  was  passed  in 


23 

South  Carolina.  A  wider  field  of  usefulness,  than  any 
in  which  he  had  hitherto  laboured,  was  opened  before 
him  in  Savannah. 

He  was  invited  in  the  year  1 799,  to  occupy  the  pul- 
pit of  a  church,  erected  in  that  city  by  Baptists,  but 
completed,  and  occupied  by  Presbyterians.  In  accept- 
ing this  invitation,  he  was  influenced  only  by  a  desire 
to  promote,  still  farther  than  he  had  done,  the  happi- 
ness of  his  fellow  beings.  In  his  mind,  it  was  no  ob- 
jection, therefore,  to  his  acceptance  of  it,  that  it  was 
made  by  a  congregation  of  Presbyterians.  He  knew, 
that  they  were  aiming  at  the  same  great  object  to  which 
his  life  was  devoted  ;  that  they  were  travelling  in  the 
same  highway  to  heaven  as  himself.  They  knew  that 
he  would  advance  the  grand  interests  of  Christianity 
among  them,  and  they  forgot  that  his  opinions  were 
not  in  all  points,  the  same  as  theirs. 

It  is  pleasing  to  remark,  this  mutual  surrender  of 
sectarian  feeling,  between  this  Christian  Baptist 
preacher,  and  these  Christian  Presbyterian  people. 

The  union  between  Dr.  Holcombe,  and  the  congre- 
gation here  noticed,  continued  until  the  year  1802, 
when  a  Baptist  church  was  organised  in  Savannah,  of 
which  he  was  unanimously  elected  pastor ;  and  for 
which,  he  performed  the  duties  of  this  important 
station,  with  fidelity  and  success,  for  several  years. 

During  the  period  of  his  residence  in  Savannah,  he 
engaged  in  a  variety  of  pursuits,  in  addition  to  those 
of  his  immediate  station  and  profession,  all  equally 
worthy  of  his  noble  soul,  and  all  alike  deserving  of 
our  plaudits.  The  limits  we  have  assigned  to  our- 
selves, will  not,  however,  allow  us  to  notice  more  than 
part  of  these. 


24 

Previously  to  his  arrival  in  Georgia  he  had  display- 
ed a  deep  and  lively  interest  in  the  extension  of  human 
knowledge,  which  was  not  extinguished  at  any  subse- 
quent period  of  his  life.  Though  he  had  himself  been 
destitute  of  those  means  of  enriching  and  improving  his 
mind,  which  are  supplied  by  schools  and  colleges,  he 
was  ever  ready  to  enter  actively  into  any  measure,  cal- 
culated to  promote  the  welfare  of  institutions,  tending 
to  the  advancement  of  science  and  of  letters.  He  was 
not  one  of  those,  who  vaunting  themselves  on  having 
been  self-taught,  cast  contempt  on  learning,  and  proud- 
ly affect  to  despise  the  culture  of  the  mind.  He  felt 
that  "  knowledge  was  power,"  in  whatever  manner  it 
be  acquired,  and  was  solicitous  that  it  should  be  extend- 
ed to  the  whole  family  of  mankind,  by  every  method 
which  human  art  or  human  industry  could  furnish. 
We  have  no  reason,  therefore,  to  pass  over  his  want  of 
scholastic  education,  with  timid  brevity.  Rather  do 
we  feel  disposed  to  boast  of  it,  when  we  find  it  afford- 
ing so  strong  an  evidence  of  the  native  nobleness  of 
soul,  already  so  conspicuously  displayed  in  him  on 
whom  our  encomiums  are  bestowed.  In  those  who 
are  versed  in  classic  lore,  who  have  been  loaded  with 
the  treasures  of  philosophy,  and  who  have,  from  earli- 
est youth,  been  engaged  in  gathering  flowers  from 
Parnassus,  a  spirit  of  devotion  to  the  cause  of  literature 
and  science  might  be  looked  for.  They  only  pay  a 
debt  to  learning,  when  they  step  forward  to  advance  its 
interests,  and  to  enlarge  its  limits.  Those  who  have 
received  little  from  its  ample  stores,  and  who  yet  strive 
to  extend  its  benign  and  invigorating  influence,  do  7nore, 
They,  and  they  only,  confer  a  favour  on  science,  and  to 


25 

them,  therefore,  peculiar  honour  is  due.  How  much 
more  highly  then,  should  they  he  esteemed,  than  those 
who  return  to  science,  for  the  bounties  she  has  heaped 
upon  them,  little  else  than  empty  boastings  of  her 
charms  ;  boastings  as  often  the  offspring  of  inflated 
vanity,  as  of  a  conviction  of  her  intrinsic  excellence  ? 
For  proofs  of  the  justice  of  the  claims  we  have  laid  in 
favour  of  our  departed  friend,  we  refer  to  the  honours 
bestowed  on  him  by  a  remote  and  distinguished  univer- 
sity, in  addition  to  those  marks  of  high  respect  and  re- 
gard which  were  conferred  on  his  name  by  two  south- 
ern colleges,  as  much  indebted  tb  him  for  their  exis- 
tence, as  to  any  other  individual  in  the  states  where 
they  were  founded,  and  in  which  they  are  now  flour- 
ishing. The  interest  he  displayed  in  the  instruction  of 
the  youth  of  Georgia  and  South  Carolina,  during  his 
residence  in  these  states,  was  not  unaccompanied  by 
sympathy  for  those  who  were  destitute  of  the  physical 
comforts  of  life.  The  wretched  orphan  who  had  been 
left  to  wander  unprotected  through  the  streets,  depend- 
ing for  subsistence  on  the  daily  alms  that  could  be  gath- 
ered from  the  benevolent,  and  often  receiving  nothing 
more  than  cruel  scorn  from  the  selfish  and  iron  heart- 
ed, was  the  object  of  his  especial  care  and  kindness. 
Through  his  exertions,  many  of  these  helpless  beings 
were  collected  together,  clothed  and  fed,  and  supplied 
with  the  means  of  providing  for  their  own  future  sup- 
port and  elevation  in  society. 

In  this  work  of  charity,  he  enlisted  ihose  who  know 
best  how  to  do  good,  and  who  are  ever  among  the  first 
to  do  it.  Mothers^  who  felt  that  their  own  children 
might  one  day  become  orphans,  and  be  thrown  without 

D 


26 

protection  or  shelter  on  the  world,  could  not  be  slow 
in  listening  to  the  orphan's  cry.  They  gathered  round 
your  generous  friend,  and  with  their  purses  and  en- 
thusiastic ardour,  accomplished  the  objects  he  had  with 
so  much  eloquence  and  earnestness  impressed  on  their 
attention.  The  poor  and  despised  sons  and  daughters 
of  Africa,  held  in  ignominious  servitude  by  their  fellow 
men,  also  found  a  friend  in  him,  whose  soul  was  ever 
open  to  the  poor  man's  plea. 

In  a  section  of  our  country,  on  which  the  evils  of  un- 
natural slavery  were  entailed,  it  was  a  task  as  delicate 
as  it  was  difficult,  to  .benefit  the  servant  without  put- 
ting the  life  and  property  of  the  master  at  fearful  haz- 
ard. In  attempting  its  performance,  he  however  per- 
ceived and  adopted  that  course  which  alone  was  safe, 
and  by  which  alone  the  desired  object  could  be  attain- 
ed. He  laboured  to  diffuse  the  light  of  natural  and  religi- 
ous truth  among  these  degraded  children  of  oppression  ; 
and  though  violent  and  dangerous  opposition  was  made 
by  many  who  had  not  yet  learned  that  knowledge  is 
the  only  certain  safeguard  of  a  people  ;  the  wise  and 
the  good  were  with  him  in  his  benevolent  exertions, 
and  he  accomplished  much.  He  did  not,  as  some  wild 
and  mad  enthusiasts  have  done,  endeavour  to  excite 
the  slumbering  passions  of  the  slave  and  rouse  him  to 
indignation  against  his  master.  He  did  not  harangue 
them  on  the  horrors  of  their  thraldom  and  its  barbar- 
ous injustice,  nor  did  he  bid  them  to  stand  forth,  shake 
off  their  shackles,  and  declare  that  they  were  free. 
From  his  very  soul,  he  wished  them  to  be  so,  hut  Jirst, 
he  wished  them  to  be  fitted  for  their  freedom. 


27 

The  object  at  which  he  aimed,  was  not  the  abolition 
of  that  slavery  by  which  their  hands  were   bound  and 
their  feet  fettered,  but  of  that  by  which  their  souls  had 
been  inthraled,  not  merely  the  liberation  of  their  bodies 
from  the  servile  yoke  imposed  on  them  ;  but  the  eman- 
cipation of   their  minds  from  the  servitude  of  igno- 
rance, and  the  gloom  of  moral  and  religious  darkness. 
And  what  is  freedom  but  an  empty  name,  where  there 
is  no  religion,   no  knowledge,  no  virtue  ?    Let  us  ask 
ourselves  ;   we  who  boast  that  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania 
holds  no   slaves,  toe   who  are  sighing  for  the   removal 
from  every  portion  of  our  beloved  country,  of  the  foul- 
est stain  that  can  darken  the  escutcheon  of  a  nation  ;  let 
us  ask   ourselves  whether  we  have  done  all   that   we 
should  have  done,  to  render  the  slave  f?ee  indeed !   I 
fear  it  will  be  answered,  that  though  we  have  abolish- 
ed  slavery  from  our  soil,  in  7iame,  its  hideous j^^w/e 
still  stalks  among  us.     If  those  children  of  Africa  who 
are  crowded  together  in  our  suburbs,  are  still  ignorant 
and  vicious,  and  destitute  of  all  religion  ;  in  what  are 
they  better  than  their  brethren,  who  are  elsewhere  held 
in  bondage  ?   We  may  boast  that   we  have  made  them 
free,  but  alas  !   they  feel  not  the  soul  reviving  influence 
of  freedom.     If  we  have  not  thrown  upon  their  minds 
the  lights  of  reason  and  revelation,  they  will  stand  be- 
fore us  only  as  monuments  of  our  gross  and  unpardon- 
able  inconsistency,  and  of  the  shameful  mockery   we 
have  practised  on  the  names  of  independence  and  eman- 
cipation, in  daring  to  call  them  freemen. 

You  will  pardon  this  extension  of  my  observations  on  a 
portion  of  our  subject,  in  which  perhaps  I  may  display 
too  deep  an  interest.    I  know  not  any  method  of  doing 


28 

honour  to  the  name  of  Dr.  Holcombe,  which  can  more 
effectually  excite  jour  admiration  of  his  virtues,  than  by 
showing,  as  in  the  case  before  us,  that  ive  have  neglected 
to  practise  them,  and  by  pointing  out  the  consequences  of 
this  neglect.  He  will  be  remembered  by  the  blacks  of 
Georgia,  who  were  taught  by  him  to  revere  their  God, 
to  be  obedient  to  their  masters,  and  to  love  each  other  ; 
long  after  the  wretched,  miserable  slaves  of  vice,  who 
throng  our  streets,  and  fill  the  wards  of  our  infirmaries, 
have  forgotten  their  liberators  from  the  bondage  of  the 
body. 

But  there  were  other  duties  performed  by  him,  no 
less  important,  than  the  instruction  of  the  unlettered, 
and  the  protection  of  the  poor  and  unsheltered.  The 
extreme  severity  of  the  penal  code  of  Georgia  attract- 
ed his  attention,  and  drew  him  to  reflections  and  exer- 
tions alike  characteristic  of  the  philanthrophic  feelings 
of  his  heart ;  the  soundness  of  his  judgment,  and  the  in- 
dependent boldness  of  his  spirit.  The  shocking  spec- 
tacles of  public  execution,  so  frequently  presented  to 
the  citizens  of  that  state,  and  the  frequent  dispropor- 
tion between  the  punishment,  and  the  offence  for  which 
it  was  inflicted,  were  portrayed  by  his  pen,  in  colours 
calculated  to  awaken  a  deep  and  laudable  disgust  of 
the  one,  and  to  convince  the  reason  of  the  gross  injus- 
tice and  evil  tendency  of  the  other. 

Looking  to  Pennsylvania,  he  found  that  in  her  penal 
statutes,  justice  was  mingled  with  mercy,  and  the 
sacrifice  of  life  avoided,  without  the  smallest  diminu- 
tion of  that  dread  of  plenary  punishment,  which  it  is 
the  objoct  of  the  law  to  awaken  in  the  mind  of  the 
evil  doer.     He  saw  that  the  principles  on  which  her 


29 

code  was  founded,  partook  of  the  merciful  spirit  of  the 
great  Lawgiver  of  the  Christian  world  ;  and  that  they 
must,  therefore,  be  capable  of  universal  application. 
Sedulously  did  he  labour  to  extend  them  to  the  state, 
for  which  he  had  already  done  so  much  solid  and  last- 
ing good,  by  rendering  her  sons  more  virtuous,  her 
neglected  poor  less  wretched,  and  her  slaves  more 
happy,  and  consequently  more  obedient. 

During  his  residence  within  her  territory,  he  neglect- 
ed no  opportunity,  (as  we  have  seen,)  of  advancing  the 
interests  of  religion  and  virtue,  and  of  suppressing  vice 
and  immorality.  But  one  additional  evidence  of  this 
shall  be  presented  to  you,  before  we  accompany  our 
reverend  friend  to  this  city. 

If  it  be  true,  (and  there  are  none  to  dispute  it,)  that 
the  hatred  of  the  vicious,  and  the  opposition  of  the 
irreligious,  bear  a  direct  proportion  to  the  energy  with 
which  the  truth  is  sustained,  and  the  fearlessness  with 
which  virtue  is  cherished  and  extended  ;  Dr.  Holcombe 
is  entitled  to  a  high  rank  among  such  as  have  made 
these  their  objects,  for  he  was  reviled  and  persecuted 
for  their  sake.  Not  his  peace  and  his  happiness  only, 
but  his  life  also,  was  aimed  at.  The  bare  mention  of 
the  horrid  design  planned  for  his  destruction  must 
awaken  the  liveliest  emotion  in  your  minds,  for  you  re- 
flect at  once  on  the  loss  you  would  have  sustained, 
had  it  prospered  in  the  execution.  You  shudder  at 
the  mere  notice  of  an  attempt,  which,  if  successful, 
would  have  put  to  silence  that  voice,  on  whose  impres- 
sive tones  you  have  so  often  hung  with  pleasure  and 
delight.  The  midnight  hour  had  just  been  struck, 
when  your  beloved  friend  was  roused  from  his  slum- 


30 

bers   by  the  loud  knocking  of  an  assassin  at  his  dooiv 
The  mild  accents  of  one  who  asks  a  favour,  were  em- 
ployed, to  disguise  the  rankling  malignity  of  the  mur- 
derer, who  wished  to  lure  him  from  his  home,  that  his 
deadly  intent   might  be   executed  on  him.     The   /«e, 
however,   that  tell  tale  of  the  designing,  betrayed  his 
purpose,  and  proved  the  salvation  of  him,  who,  but  for 
this,  might  have  been  that  night  the  victim  of  fiendish 
rage.     A  request  that  he  would  go  a  short  distance  to 
perform  a  marriage  ceremony,  with  the  promise  of  a 
handsome  fee,  was  accompanied  by  the  assertion,  that 
midnight  was  yet  at  two  hours  distance.     This  was 
known  to  be  false,  and  compliance  with  the  request 
refused  ;    when,  at  once,  the  arch  hypocrite  stood  forth 
in  his  true  character,  blaspheming  God,  and  threaten- 
ing vengeance  against  his  servant. 

It  was  not  long  before  another  effort  was  made  to 
effect  his  destruction,  by  the  same  band  of  ruffians, 
whose  agent  had  thus  failed  in  his  attempt  to  destroy 
his  useful  life.  Returning  homewards  from  the  wor- 
ship of  his  maker,  with  two  youthful  sons  by  his  side, 
a  musket  was  snapped  at  his  breast,  at  so  short  a  dis- 
tance from  him,  that  its  fire  rolled  at  his  feet,  and  its 
pointed  bayonet  was  grasped  by  his  extended  hand. 
Even  at  this  fearful  moment,  with  more  than  one  mur- 
derous weapon  raised  against  him,  he  trembled  not, 
for  the  panoply  of  conscious  rectitude  was  round  him. 
With  a  voice  that  shook  the  souls  of  his  dastardly  as- 
sailants to  the  very  centre,  he  questioned  them  on  their 
intent,  and  forced  from  their  coward  lips,  their  suppliant 
prayers  for  pardon.  Such  are  the  triumphs  of  the 
good  man  over  his  adversaries,  even  though  he  meet 
them  unarmed,  and  in  their  own  loved  darkness. 


31 

Time  will  not  permit  us  to  remain  longer  in  a  field 
so  rich  in  proofs  of  that  greatness  and  magnanimity  of 
soul,  that  ardour  in  the  cause  of  God,  and  that  energy 
in  repelling  and  disarming  vice,  which  it  is  our  pleasure, 
as  it  is  our  honour,  to  eulogize  in  our  departed  friend. 

After  having  laboured  to  promote  the  happiness,  and 
add  to  the  virtue  of  the  citizens  of  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia,  for  more  than  thirty  years;  after  having 
seen  a  literary  and  scientific  institution  rising  in  each 
of  these  states,  under  his,  and  the  patronage  of  other 
wise  and  good  men;  after  having  completed  that  work, 
which  had  been  set  apart  for  him  in  heaven,  to  be  ac- 
complished in  the  South  ;  he  accepted  an  invitation 
from  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Philadelphia  to  visit 
this  city,  where  he  arrived  in  September,  1811. 

But  a  short  time  was  required  to  convince  those  by 
whom  he  had  been  invited  hither,  of  his  ability  as  a 
preacher,  and  his  fitness  in  all  other  respects  to  fill  the 
station  of  Pastor  of  this  old  and  highly  respectable 
church  of  God.  He  was  accordingly  called  by  an 
unanimous  vote,  not  only  of  her  members,  but  of  those 
of  the  congregation,  to  occupy  this  important  post ; 
and  he  complied  with  the  request,  with  that  Christian 
modesty  and  diffidence,  which  had  ever  been  a  charac- 
teristic feature  of  his  mind. 

After  paying  a  rapid  visit  to  the  South,  parting  with 
his  numerous  friends  in  that  quarter,  and  receiving 
from  the  church  of  Savannah,  as  strong  a  testimonial 
of  his  usefulness  and  worth,  as  man  could  give  to  man;* 
he  returned  to  Philadelphia  with  his  family,  on  the  1st 

*  A  copy  of  this  letter  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  rulogiiini. 


of  January,  1812,  and  entered  immediately  on  the  per- 
formance of  his  pastoral  duties. 

It  is  /lere,  my  friends  and  fellow  citizens,  I  feel  most 
sensibly  the  weight  and  difficuhy  of  the  task  I  have 
undertaken ;  not  because  I  fear  that  your  own  know- 
ledge of  his  character  and  services  will  lead  you  to 
charge  me  with  exaggeration  in  the  praise  I  may  be- 
stow, but  because  that  knowledge  must  convince  you, 
still  more  forcibly  than  you  have  been  yet  convinced,  of 
my  inadequacy  to  do  justice  to  my  subject. 

I  feel,  however,  emboldened  to  proceed  by  the  re- 
flection, that  what  I  may  utter  may  perhaps  be  useful, 
as  well  as  interesting  to  those,  (if  (here  be  any  such 
in  this  assembly,)  who  do  not  know  him  as  he  should 
be  known ;  or  who  knowing,  cannot  appreciate  his 
worth.  To  this  end,  I  shall  endeavour  to  place  him 
before  you,  as  conspicuously  as  my  feeble  powers  will 
admit,  in  his  various  characters,  as  the  Pastor  of  a 
Christian  church ;  as  a  public  Preacher,  and  writer, 
and  as  a  man. 

The  relation  subsisting  between  the  pastor  of  a 
church  and  its  several  members,  is  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting kind.  A  mutual  compact  is  entered  into,  for 
the  performance  of  certain  defined  duties,  the  neglect 
of  which,  on  either  part,  is  deemed  deserving  of  re- 
proach and  reprehension.  There  must  be  a  reciprocal 
giving  and  receiving  of  aid  and  counsel  between  the 
two,  in  all  cases  of  doubt,  difficulty,  or  embarrassment; 
and  a  constant  interchange,  not  of  the  cold  civilities 
and  heartless  formalities  of  the  world,  but  of  all  those 
tender  and  endearing  offices,  which  the  warmest  and 


33 

sincerest  love  can  suggest.  They  must  feel  towards 
each  other,  as  brethren,  acknowledging  the  same  hea- 
venly father,  enjoying  the  same  rich  inheritance,  and 
looking  forward  to  the  same  perpetuity  of  bliss  in  that 
eternal  world,  in  which  their  brotherhood  can  neither 
be  broken  nor  disturbed.  It  is  their  duty  to  supply  his 
wants,  and  to  place  him  above  those  cares  and  per- 
plexities of  life  which  would  harrass  his  mind,  and  un- 
fit it  for  the  solemn  and  sublime  contemplation  of  that 
important  subject,  in  which  his  whole  soul  should  be 
absorbed.  It  istheir  duty  too,  in  the  hour  o( his  sickness, 
when  his  energies  are  failing,  and  the  lamp  of  his  life 
is  quivering  in  its  socket,  to  watch  at  his  bedside,  to 
smooth  his  pillow,  to  present  to  his  parched  and  tremu- 
lous lips  the  cool  and  refreshing  draught,  and  to  cheer 
and  console  his  weeping  and  disconsolate  family ; 
when  finally,  the  breath  of  life  has  ceased  to  expand 
his  breast,  and  the  fluttering  pulse  to  beat  at  his  ex- 
hausted heart.  But  why  dilate  on  duties  which 
every  member  of  every'Christian  church  must  know, 
and  the  neglect  of  which,  all  that  hear  me  must  be  con- 
scious, will  call  down  upon  such  as  are  guilty  of  it, 
the  just  and  indignant  reprobation,  even  of  those  who 
boast  not  that  they  are  under  the  sweet  influence  of 
Christian  love? 

In  return  for  these  kind  offices  due  to  the  Pastor, 
much  is  required  at  his  hands.  He  is  expected  to 
caution  the  feeble  minded  against  the  fascinations  of 
worldly  pleasure,  by  wiiich  they  are  too  often  beguiled 
into  conduct  unworthy  of  the  Christian  character;  to 
dissipate  the  doubts  of  those  who  waver  in  their  faith, 
and  to  pour  into  the  minds  of  all  connected  with  him, 

E 


34 

perppfiial  supplies  of  those  solid  and  unanswerable  ar- 
guments, on  which  their  holy  religion  has  been  built. 

It  is  his  province,  also,  to  heal  the  broken  spirit ;  to 
carry  comfort  and  consolation  to  the  poorest,  in  the 
hour  of  their  need;  and  to  intercede  with  the  God  of 
mercy,  in  behalf  of  the  wretched  sufferer,  whose  path 
through  life  has  been  planted  with  the  piercing  thorns 
of  misfortune.  And  did  not  he,  whose  name  is  now 
held  up  before  you  for  your  veneration — did  not  he 
perform  all  these  interesting  duties?  To  you  who  are 
members  of  the  church,  with  which  he  was  connected 
for  the  last  twelve  years  of  his  existence,  I  may  boldly 
appeal  for  an  answer  to  this  question.  Many  of  you 
have  been  the  children  of  affliction  ;  many  of  you  have 
felt  the  agonies  of  disease  ;  many  of  you  have  lost  the 
dearest  objects  of  your  earthly  love.  Tell  me,  did  he 
ever  hold  back  his  counsel  when  you  asked  it  of  him? 
Did  he  ever  refuse  to  visit  the  chamber  of  your  suffer- 
ings, when  he  knew  that  you  were  confined  to  it  by 
sickiu^ss  ?  Did  he  ever  stand  aloof  when  death  had  en- 
tered your  doors,  and  when  your  aching  hearts  were 
sighing  for  the  presence  of  some  kind  friend  to  allay 
their  anguish,  and  revive  their  sinking  powers  ? — Oh  ! 
no,  he  did  not.  His  tears  were  ever  mingled  with 
yours,  when  you  were  in  sorrow  and  affliction,  and  the 
smile  of  sincere  and  affectionate  congratulation  played 
upon  his  lips,  when  you  were  happy.  His  tender 
sympathies  were  with  you,  when  you  mourned,  and 
when  you  triumphed  over  the  difficulties  and  dangers 
that  beset  your  path,  he  also  felt  the  pleasures  of  a 
triumph.  Not  only  as  individuals,  but  as  a  body,  you 
have  had  obstacles  to  overcome,  and  dangers  to  en- 


35 

counter,  of  no  ordinary  magnitude ;  and  in  the  midst 
of  ally  he  was  steadfast  to  your  cause,  for  it  was  the 
cause  of  truth.  Did  he  desert  you  when  your  inde- 
pendence as  a  church  was  rudely  assailed,  and  when 
the  storm  that  gathered  round  you,  seemed  ready  to 
burst  upon  your  heads,  and  rend  asunder  the  bonds  by 
which  you  were  held  together  ? 

Was  he  regardless  of  his  duty,  or  your  welfare, 
when  he  declared  that  the  pulpit  to  which  you  had 
called  him,  should  not  be  polluted  by  the  foot  of  one, 
against  whom,  not  only  the  charge,  but  the  proofs  had 
been  advanced,  of  a  crime,  as  foul  as  any  to  be  found 
in  the  long,  black  catalogue  of  human  vice  ?*  No ! 
alike  regardless  of  the  numbers,  and  the  loud  vocifera- 
tions of  his  angry  opponents,  he  was  faithful  to  the 
trust  reposed  in  him.  He  led  you  victoriously  to  the 
station  you  now  so  happily  and  so  honourably  occupy, 

*  The  case  here  referred  to  was  one  of  such  general  notoriety,  that 
no  explanation  was  deemed  necessary  to  prevent  the  erroneous  appli- 
cation of  what  is  found  in  the  text.  To  all  but  men  whose  friendship 
must  ever  do  more  injury  to  those  on  whom  it  is  conferred,  by  its  ex- 
treme irritability,  than  it  can  do  service  by  its  steadiness  and  warmth, 
it  must  be  obvious,  that  the  individual  here  brought  forward  was,  the 
Baptist  Preacher,  who  a  few  years  since,  fled  from  the  frowns  of  an  in- 
jured church,  and  an  outraged  community  of  Christians  ;  wandered 
for  a  time  through  our  Western  states  ;  returned  to  this  city,  was  im- 
mured in  prison  at  the  suit  of  the  national  government,  solicited,  with- 
out success,  the  visits  of  those  who  had  once  been  the  violent  and  per- 
tinacious advocates  of  his  innocence ;  addressed  himself  to  Dr.  Hol- 
combe,  was  promptly  waited  on  by  him  during  his  confinement,  con- 
fessed his  guilt,  declared  his  penitence,  gave  his  unqualified  testimony 
to  the  correctness  and  justice  of  Dr.  H.'s  conduct  towards  him,  and  in 
part,  through  his  kind  exertions,  obtained  his  liberty. 


36 

as  an  independent  church,— «  church  whose  testimony 
in  his  favour  will  outweigh  all  the  idle  clamour  that 
envy  or  jealousy  may  raise  against  his  name. 

May  you  long  enjoy  the  blessings  that  so  richly 
flowed  upon  you  from  his  unwearied  and  invaluable 
labours,  and  in  their  enjoyment,  may  you  never  forget 
the  debt  of  gratitude  you  owe  to  him,  nor  cease  to 
cherish  your  present  veneration  of  his  worth! 

As  a  public  Preacher,  Dr.  Holcombe  held  a  high  and 
honourable  rank  among  his  brethren  of  the  same  voca- 
tion. "  Without  seeking  the  elegancies  of  composi- 
tion, he  rose  to  a  surprising  energy  and  ease  of  expres- 
sion, gave  forth  his  many  thoughts,  in  a  clear,  nervous 
diction,  and  when  warmed  with  his  subject,  would  lead 
his  admiring  audience,  the  willing  captives  of  his  ar- 
dent rhetoric  along  with  him,  to  feast  on  those  trans- 
ports, with  which  genius  and  piety  could  supply  the 
attentive  mind." 

Is  it  necessary  for  me  to  add  any  thing  to  this  de- 
scription, from  the  pen  of  one  whose  learning  and  piety 
are  now  enriching  the  same  field,  in  which  our  lament- 
ed friend  once  laboured  so  successfully  ?  All  you  who 
have  heard  him  can  attest  its  truth.  He  was  indeed— 
"  A  Preacher,  such  as  Paul, 

Were  he  on  earth,  would  hear,  approve  and  own — " 

for  he  was  "  grave,  sincere ; 

In  doctrine  uncorrupt ;  in  language  plain, 

And  plain  in  manner ;  decent,  solemn,  chaste, 

And  natural  in  gesture ;  much  impressed 

Himself,  as  conscious  of  his  awful  charge, 

And  anxious  mainly  that  the  flock  he  fed 

Might  feel  it  too ;  affectionate  in  look, 

And  tender  in  address,  as  well  becomes 

A  messenger  of  grace  to  guilty  men. *  *  * 


37 

By  him  the  violated  law  spoke  out 

Its  thunders ;  and  by  him,  in  strains  as  sweet 

As  angels  use,  the  gospel  whispered  peace." 

What  portraiture  of  our  beloved  Preacher  can  we  give, 
more  striking  in  its  resemblance,  than  this  with  which 
the  poet  has  supplied  us  ? 

In  the  writings  of  Dr.  Holcombe,  we  find  the  same 
chaste  simplicity ;  the  same  perspicuity,  and  the  same 
nervous  energy,  which  characterized  his  preaching. 
He  had  the  same  ends  in  view  in  both,  and  in  both  he 
was  eminently  successful  in  fixing  the  attention  and 
convincing  the  reason  of  his  auditors  and  readers. 

In  all  that  has  issued  from  his  pen,  even  those  who 
differ  from  him  in  opinion,  can  discover  a  spirit  of  de- 
votion to  the  cause  of  truth,  and  a  deep  and  lively  in- 
terest in  the  welfare  of  his  fellow  men. 

He  neither  preached  nor  wrote  for  himself,  nor  was  it 
because  he  believed  that  he  persuaded  others  to  believe. 
He  wished  only  a  calm  and  dispassionate  examination 
of  his  principles,  and  was  ever  willing,  as  many  of  you 
have  often  heard  him  to  declare,  that  both  he  and  they 
should  be  cast  from  you,  if  found  at  variance  with  the 
oracles  of  God. 

In  the  series  of  lectures  presented  to  the  public,  un- 
der the  title  of  Primitive  Theology,  all  that  we  have 
here  assumed,  will  be  discovered.  In  the  manner  in 
which  he  there  approaches  the  judgments  of  his  readers, 
the  greatest  liberality  towards  those  who  differ  from 
him,  will  be  found  blended  with  manly  boldness  in  de- 
fence and  support  of  his  own  honest  convictions  on  the 
subjects  of  which  he  treats.  On  such  of  these  as  are 
peculiarly  of  a  theological  character,  it  is  not  my  in- 
tention to  offer  any  observations. 


38  ♦ 

There  is,  however,  one  principle  avowed  and  de- 
fended by  him,  not  only  in  the  work  referred  to,  but 
elsewhere,  which  cannot  be  overlooked  in  a  sketch  of 
his  distinguished  character. 

It  is  well  known  to  most  of  you,  that  Dr.  Holcombe, 
after  having  believed  and  acted  on  a  contrary  doctrine 
for  the  major  portion  of  his  life,  became  convinced,  aiid 
declared  his  conviction,  that  neither  the  precepts  nor 
example  of  Christ  could  be  shown  to  justify  the  waging 
of  war  in  any  form  between  man  and  man.  For  a 
knowledge  of  the  process  of  reasoning  by  which  he  ar- 
rived at  this  conclusion,  and  of  the  facts  and  argu- 
ments he  employed  to  defend  it,  I  refer  you  to  his  pub- 
lished writings  on  the  subject,  while  I  endeavour 
briefly  to  show  that  the  course  he  pursued  in  this  par- 
ticular, added  new  lustre  to  his  virtues,  gave  new  dig- 
nity to  his  character  as  a  Christian  Preacher,  and  fur- 
nished new  proofs  of  his  fitness  for  that  paradise,  into 
which  we  are  assured,  he  was  most  joyfully  admitted 
when  he  bade  adieu  to  earth. 

In  his  endeavours  to  propagate  the  principles  of 
peace,  and  to  diffuse  among  his  fellow  men  the  feelings 
of  universal  love,  his  devotion  to  his  country  burned  as 
brightly  as  it  had  done,  when  he  drew  forth  his  sword 
in  her  defence.  With  him  it  was  religion,  and  not  the 
blind  and  bigot  policy  of  a  party  hostile  to  the  measures 
of  the  higher  powers,  that  led  him  to  urge  his  fellow 
citizens  to  cultivate  the  arts  of  peace,  and  cease  to  in- 
dulge in  deadly  hatred  of  their  fellow  men.  Do  you 
ask  whether  those  principles  which  tend  to  promote 
harmony  between  individuals  and  nations,  are  compati- 
hle  with  your  duty  to  your  country,  or  the  support  you 


39 

owe  to  civil  govprnment  ?  Consult  your  history,  and 
in  that  page  on  which  the  name  of  Penn  is  recorded, 
you  will  find  an  answer  to  your  question.  Was  it  the 
sword  that  forced  the  hostile  Indian  to  retire  from  these 
shores  ?  Was  it  the  terrific  thunder  of  artillery,  that 
drove  him  to  the  mountain,  and  protected  your  fathers 
from  the  awful  out  pourings  of  his  vengeance  ?  There 
was  no  call  for  vengeance  here,  for  he  had  sustained  no 
wrong.  He  proved,  though  alas  !  Christians  cannot 
believe  it,  that  kindness  will  be  repaid  with  kindness, 
and  that  those  who  arm  not  against  their  fellow  men, 
need  not  feel  fearful  of  their  arms. 

But  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  reply  to  those,  who  look 
on  war  as  one  of  those  wonderful  anomalies  in  the  mo- 
ral world,  which  have  so  long  borne  the  unintelligible 
title  of  necesssary  evils,  and  who  treat  as  visionary 
speculators  and  mad  enthusiasts  in  a  hopeless  cause, 
all  who  aim  to  lessen  its  horrors  and  prevent  its  dire 
recurrence.  Before  such  as  can  conceive  of  no  true 
patriotism  but  that  which  displays  itself  in  arming  and 
equipping  the  6oflfy  for  the  fight,  it  would  indeed  be  'dhope- 
less  cause  to  attempt  to  prove,  that  our  departed  friend 
was  an  honest  patriot.  Before  you,  however,  by  whom 
he  was  so  well  known,  I  may  fearlessly  hazard  the  bold 
assertion,  that  no  man  of  his  profession,  within  the  wide 
range  of  our  free  and  admirable  institutions,  knew  better 
their  intrinsic  value,  or  did  more  to  preserve  their  pris- 
tine purity.  Much  might  be  added  on  this  interesting 
branch  of  our  subject ;  but  I  forbear.  Ask  yourselves 
which  Christian  preacher  is  most  worthy  of  your  ho- 
nours; he  who  strives  to  fire  your  souls  with  martial  ar- 
dour, who  lends  the  aid  of  his  eloquence  to  those  who 


40 

summon  you  to  arm  against  your  brother's  life, 
and  kindles  by  the  power  of  his  enchanting  rhetoric, 
those  passions  in  your  bosoms,  which  lead  you  to  de- 
light in  carnage  ?  Or,  he  who  labours  to  inspire  your 
souls  with  love,  not  only  for  your  friends,  but  also  for 
your  foes,  who  seeks  to  tranquilize  the  angry  feelings  of 
your  nature,  and  to  substitute  in  your  hearts  the  senti- 
ments of  pure  and  boundless  benevolence,  for  those  wild 
and  stormy  emotions  which  have  been  roused  by  the 
shrill  trumpet  and  the  spirit  stirring  drum  ?  Which  of 
these  most  resembles  the  mild  and  merciful  author  of 
your  religion  ?  Which  will  shine  most  brightly  in  the 
hour  of  approaching  dissolution,  when  the  heart  must 
sicken  at  the  "  pomp  and  circumstance  of  war,"  and  its 
breaking  chords  must  cease  to  vibrate  to  its  loud 
alarms  ?  Which  will  be  extolled  the  highest  by  those 
countless  hosts,  who  were  made  the  heralds  of  "j»eace  on 
earth,  and  good  will  to  man,''''  and  who  are  now  filling 
the  eternal  world  with  their  sweet  harmonious  mea- 
sures ?  Ask  yourselves  these  questions,  calmly  and  so- 
berly, and  we  fear  not,  but  your  answers  will  do  ho- 
nour to  our  lamented  friend. 

If  we  view  Dr.  Holcombe  in  the  retirement  of  pri- 
vate life,  we  shall  find  no  less  to  admire  in  him,  than 
we  have  already  seen  in  his  various  public  characters. 
He  was  a  tender  and  devoted  husband,  a  kind,  indulgent 
and  affectionate  father,  and  as  a  friend,  unwavering  and 
ardent  in  his  attachment.  To  the  poor  he  was  bountiful 
to  the  full  measure  of  his  resources',  and  to  all  men,  no 
matter  what  their  faith,  their  colour  or  condition,  he 
was  courteous  and  liberal,  for  he  felt  that  they  were 
all   his  brethren.     His  favourite    maxim,    ''never   to 


41 

wound  the  feelings  of  a  friend^  never  to  make  an  ene- 
my, but  for  the. truth'' s  sake,  and  never  to  resent  aninju- 
ry,^''  is  worthy  of  being  registered  in  all  our  memories. 
He  acted  on  it  uniformly,  and  during  the  period  of  his 
last  illness,  gave  frequent  evidence,  that  his  soul  v»^as 
not  only  enjoying  peace  ivithin  itself,  but  that  it  was 
also  at  peace  with  all  mankind. 

And  must  we  noiv  approach  his  dying  bed,  and  wit- 
ness the  prostration  of  those  energies  which  had  so  long 
been  active  in  doing  good?  We  cannot  do  it.  The 
grateful  fervour  with  which  he  grasped  the  hand  that 
had  raised  the  reviving  draught  to  his  lips  ;  the  placid 
smile  that  played  on  his  countenance,  and  the  mild  and 
benignant  glance  that  beamed  from  his  eye  on  those 
who  stood  by  him  in  the  hour  of  his  final  affliction ; 
the  calm  composure,  and  the  unshrinking  fearlessness 
with  which  he  met  the  approach  of  death  ;  and  the  joy 
that  seemed  to  thrill  through  his  enraptured  soul,  on 
finding  that  he  came  divested  of  his  terrors,  to  conduct 
him  to  eternal  bliss  ;  these  all  rush  upon  our  feelings, 
and  excite  emotions  in  our  bosoms,  to  which  no  lan- 
guage can  give  utterance. 

On  the  morning  of  the  22d  of  the  last  month,  (May) 
his  eyes  lost  their  lustre,  and  were  closed  on  all  terres- 
trial objects;  the  colour  forsook  his  cheeks,  and  the 
pulse  of  life  ceased  to  beat  at  his  heart.  He  sunk  into 
that  deep  and  lasting  sleep,  from  which  none  on  earth 
awaken.  And  is  lie  dead  indeed  ?  No !  my  friends, 
he  is  yet  living.  Though  you  have  clothed  his  noble 
and  majestic  form  in  the  mantle  of  the  grave,  and 
though  the  cold  damp  turf  is  pressing  on  it,  your  friend 
still  lives.    He  lives  m  the  enjoyment  of  endless  feli- 

E 


42 

city,  in  the  society  of  angels  and  of  saints ;  he  lives  in 
the  immediate  presence  of  his  God.  May  he  also  live 
in  your  hearts,  that  when  your  spirits  are  called  to  quit 
the  tenements  they  now  inhabit,  they  may  meet  him 
at  the  gate  of  heaven,  and  be  conducted  to  a  participa- 
tion in  that  pure  and  unalloyed  felicity  which  he  is 
this  moment  enjoying. 

May  you  especially,  who  revere  his  memory,  and  who 
have  this  day,  by  my  feeble  voice,  paid  the  tribute  of 
your  veneration  to  hi^ virtues;  may  2/ow  be  ever  mind- 
ful of  the  precepts  he  so  often  delivered  in  your  hear- 
ing, and  ever  careful  to  imitate  his  bright  example. 
A  brighter  could  not  be  placed  before  you,  among  all 
the  living  or  the  departed  members  of  the  human  fa- 
mily. You  have  shown  that  you  were  his  friends,  as 
he  was  ever  yours.  May  you  so  live  on  earth,  that 
when  you  are  summoned  from  it,  to  appear  before  the 
dread  tribunal  of  Almighty  God,  he  may  not  there  be 
ashamed  to  own  himself  your  friend  ! 


43 


The  following  is  the  testimonial  referred  to,  (page  S\,)andwe  deem 
it  worthy  of  entire  insertion. 

"  The  Savannah  Baptist  church  in  Georgia,  in  Conference  Convened 
on  the  9th  of  August,  1811,  to  her  sister,  the  First  Baptist  Church 
in  the  city  Philadelphia,  sends  greeting  : — 

Dearly  beloved  in  the  Lord, 

Our  dearly  beloved  brother,  Henry  Holcombe,  our  late  venerable 
and  highly  esteemed  Pastor,  having  applied  for  his  dismission  from  us, 
to  your  enlightened  body,  he  having  received  your  call  to  become  your 
Pastor,  which  he  inclines  to  believe  and  '^^  Sincerely  hope  is  the  call 
of  God,  we  cheerfully  resign  hira  to  you  by  the  will  of  God.  We  want 
words  to  express  his  worth.  As  a  Christian,  he  is  meek  and  humble, 
benevolent  and  humane,  fervent  in  prayer,  aiming  singly  at  the  glory 
of  God,  and  ever  promoting  the  interest  of  true  and  undefiled  religion. 
As  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  faithful  in  watching  over  the  flock  of  Christ, 
patient  in  tribulation,  holy  in  conversation,  easy  of  access,  willing  to 
communicate,  zealous  for  the  truths  of  God,  exhorting,  admonishing, 
and  rebujcing  with  all  authority.  He  most  earnestly  contends  for  the 
faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints  :  he  is  ardent  in  study,  unwearied 
in  diligence,  and  greatly  beloved  by  us  and  in  all  places  where  he  has 
preached  the  word,  which  have  been  many,  and  never  in  vain.  In 
friendship,  he  is  warmly  attached,  and  ever  ready  to  put  the  most  fa- 
vourable construction  on  the  words  and  actions  even  of  his  enemies. 
God  has  bestowed  on  him  a  great  mind,  and  possessed  him  of  many 
and  singular  talents,  gifts  and  graces,  and  every  way  qualified  him  for 
great  purposes  in  the  ministry  of  the  gospel.  But  we  are  not  able  to 
describe  the  excellencies  that  combine  to  form  his  most  valuable, 
rare,  and  singular  character.  We  have  the  most  abundant  reason  to 
bless  and  thank  God  for  his  work  and  labours  of  love  among  us,  for 
the  last  twelve  years ;  and  may  God  bless  him  to  you,  as  he  has 
blessed  hira  to  us. 

May  his  health  be  preserved,  and  your  aflections  be  ever  increasing 
and  mutual.     We  do  most  heartily  bid  him  God  speed. 

Brethren,  fare  you  well. 

Signed,  by  order  and  in  behalf  >  JOHN  SHICK,  Deacon. 
of  the  whole  church,  5  ELIAS  ROBERT,  Clerk. 


44 

The  high  expectations  which  this  letter  was  calculated  to  awaken, 
were  not  disappointed  ;  as  is  shown  by  a  circumstance  not  mention- 
ed in  the  eulogium,  but  well  worthy  of  notice.  After  Dr.  Holcombe 
had  been  performing  theduties  of  Pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  in 
Philadelphia  for  some  time,  the  church  of  Savannah,  feeling  that  she 
had  sustained  a  very  serious  loss  on  the  termination  of  his  union  with 
her,  invited  him  to  return  and  ticcupy  again  the  station  he  had  so 
honourably  filled  as  her  spiritual  guide.  This  invitation  was  laid  be- 
fore those  for  whom  he  was  labouring  in  this  city,  and  drew  from  them 
an  expression  of  their  attachment  to  his  person  ;  the  high  respect  and 
veneration  in  which  they  held  his  character,  and  the  exalted  sense 
they  entertained  of  the  great  value  of  his  services;  not  less  just  and 
warm  than  that  presented  above.  It  was  signed  by  order,  and  in 
behalf  of  the  whole  church,  by  Messrs.  Joseph  Keen,  Levi  Garrett, 
Wm.  Duncan,  John  M'Leod,  Hugh  Gourley,  Jared  Sexton,  and 
Joseph  Moulder,  names,  which  would  alone  entitle  it  to  publication  in 
this  place,  did  not  its  length  forbid  it.  We  are  compelled  also  to  forego 
the  pleasure  of  recording  the  more  recent  testimonials  of  gratitude,  re- 
spect, and  love  bestowed  on  our  lamented  friend.  They  were  flow- 
ers strewed  along  his  path  as  he  travelled  down  to  the  grave,  and  they 
are  now  casting  back  their  fragrance  on  those,  by  whose  hands  they 
were  spread  before  his  feet. 


